'Nice game, pretty boy!' Jerry Seinfeld, Keith Hernandez reunited
Hey, check this out: Jerry Seinfeld will be joining Keith Hernandez and Gary Cohen in the SNY booth for Wednesday's Tigers-Mets game.
Keith and Jerry will discuss the famous "The Boyfriend" episode of "Seinfeld" for the first time since the show premiered in 1992.
It's all a Father's Day present arranged for Seinfeld by his wife, Jessica, through a friend of hers who happens to be the wife of SNY anchor Gary Apple.
Hernandez told me it was his idea to cast Roger McDowell as the "second spitter" in the episode, one of many stories surrounding it.
(SNY analyst Ron Darling tells the story of being asked to be on the show before Hernandez was approached. But he turned it down to avoid offending his then-wife, who was struggling to find acting jobs.)
As part of my Seinfeld/Hernandez extravaganza in the Friday paper, I also included a list of five other memorable New York-related athlete cameos, and invited people to share their favorites by emailing me at nbest@newsday.com (or commenting on the blog).
I can't find it on Newsday.com, so I'm just going to cut and paste the original here:
Keith Hernandez’s 1992 appearance on “Seinfeld” is perhaps the most popular by a pro athlete in TV history, but there have been many others.
Five other classics with New York ties, in chronological order:
Yogi Berra, “The Phil Silvers Show,” 1957. Sgt. Bilko convinces a reluctant Southerner to sign with the Yankees by convincing him the players are from the South. Says Yogi as he exits: “Arrivederci, y’all!”
Joe Namath, “The Brady Bunch,” 1973. Broadway Joe, wearing vintage red Pumas, visits the Bradys’ famous artificial turf backyard and throws a pass to Bobby, impressing the neighborhood kids.
Paul O’Neill, “Seinfeld,” 1995. Kramer promises a sick boy Paul O’Neill will hit two home runs for him. Upon hearing this, O’Neill says: “It’s no good. It’s terrible . . . It’s hard to hit home runs!”
Peyton Manning, “Saturday Night Live,” 2007. In a skit that never gets old, Manning works with kids on a Manhattan field on their football (and other skills). “Cops! Cops! Every man for himself!”
Tom Brady, “Entourage,” 2009. The Patriots quarterback golfs with the boys. Brady: “Hey, do I know you from somewhere?” Turtle: “Were you at the Giants’ Super Bowl victory parade last year?”
